Writer/Director David Donnelly

David Donnelly is an American filmmaker, writer and artist. Donnelly graduated with honors from the prestigious International Baccalaureate program at the age of seventeen. Early ambitions of becoming a doctor inspired Donnelly to leave northern Kentucky and continue his education at Washington University in St. Louis, where he developed a passion for film. The very day after graduating college Donnelly moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream.

In his mid-twenties Donnelly began directing commercials and educational films, selling his first short film series, Think About It, in 2008. In 2010, the Miami based Consequences Foundation commissioned Donnelly to write and direct a short film that tackles South Florida’s juvenile crime epidemic. The film, which features an inspirational message from the rapper Ludacris and convicted felons, is now screened to Miami area juveniles after their arrest, in hopes of inspiring them to stay out of jail.

In late 2015, Donnelly released his first feature length documentary Maestro (www.maestromovie.com). The crew followed several Grammy award-winning musicians across the globe. Four years in the making, many consider it to be the most comprehensive portrait of contemporary classical music ever captured on film. Donnelly made the documentary with the intention of exposing a broader audience to the classical genre. Maestro has been translated into ten languages and is airing on international networks spanning five continents. Most importantly it is utilized as a much needed resource for music educators. Donnelly is also the author of the viral Huffington Post essay “Why Failing Orchestras are the Problem of Every American.”

Donnelly has collaborated with some of the world’s most accomplished musicians. He directed the first music video (“High Done No Why To”) for the Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth. His music video “Vitali Variations,” featuring renowned violinist Tatiana Berman, was aired in twenty-six countries. Donnelly is the creator of the groundbreaking concert series Not So Classical, which revolutionizes the genre through a hybrid film/concert experience.

As well as writing and directing, the thirty-four year-old Renaissance man spends time pursuing his passions of painting and public speaking, always focusing on projects with social and cultural significance. His conceptual art has been regularly featured at the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Art and has been acquired by collectors across the world. As a guest speaker, Donnelly visits some of America’s finest institutions including the Curtis Institute of Music and Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. A preview of some of his art can be seen and purchased on CultureMonster.Org.

Donnelly is preparing the release of the documentary Gabe (2017), which he executive produced. Gabe tells the inspirational story of a young man battling muscular dystrophy. Donnelly is also in pre-production on his next documentary feature film,A Call to Minds, which features some of the most brilliant minds alive and examines the relationship between mass culture and our survival as a species. You can learn more about David on his website at www.IamDavidDonnelly.com and at www.CultureMonster.org.

Conductor Paavo Järvi

Grammy award winning Paavo Järvi is now in his fourth season as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris and this season returns with the orchestra to Japan, Ho-Chi Minh City, the BBC Proms, Enescu Music Festival Bucharest, and Vienna’s Musikverein for a three-concert residency. They also appear in Alte Oper Frankfurt’s Stravinsky Focus. In 2012/13 Järvi was appointed Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, for his contribution to music in France. He will take up the position of Chief Conductor with the NHK Symphony Orchestra from the beginning of the 2015/16 season.

Since 2004 Paavo Järvi has been Artistic Director of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. 2012/13 ended with a tour to South America where they performed a complete Beethoven symphony cycle in São Paulo. Highlights this season include Beethoven’s Fidelio at Beethovenfest Bonn and at Minato Mirai, Yokohama, where the orchestra has close relationships with both organizations. For Sony, Järvi and the orchestra have released the complete Schumann Symphonies and critically acclaimed recordings of the complete Beethoven’s Symphonies, for which he received the 2010 ECHO Klassik Conductor of the Year Award and the prestigious 2007 Jahrepreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Prize. The orchestra will also perform in Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Boston, New York, Tokyo and at the 2014 Schleswig Holstein, Lanaudiere and Warsaw Easter Festivals.

The 2013/14 season sees Järvi start a new relationship with Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra as Conductor Laureate, following a highly successful period as their Music Director. During his tenure, they have appeared together at festivals such as the BBC Proms, Rheingau Musik Festival and the Robeco Summer series (Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw) as well as on numerous tours in Asia. Recordings with the orchestra include the complete Bruckner Symphonies (Sony), the future release of the Nielsen Symphonies, complete Mahler Symphonies (on DVD) and most recently, in collaboration with Frank Peter Zimmermann, the Hindemith Violin Concerto – alongside which Järvi was awarded the International Paul Hindemith Prize 2012.

As a guest conductor, last season Paavo Järvi performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra as part of the Stars of the White Nights Festival. This season he returns to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Münchner Philharmoniker, Russian National Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker and Staatskapelle Dresden.

In the 2010/11 season, Järvi completed a highly successful ten-year tenure as Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, leaving behind a legacy of extensive touring, and 16 award-winning recordings for Telarc. In recognition of his work with the orchestra, he was appointed Music Director Laureate, and returns to the orchestra each season.

Since the start of his career Paavo Järvi has prioritised his support of Estonian composers including Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Lepo Sumera and Eduard Tubin. He is currently Artistic Adviser of the Pärnu Festival and Järvi Academy, where he supports young talent through conducting masterclasses. He is also Artistic Adviser of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and was named Estonian Public Broadcasting’s 2012 Musician of the Year. In January 2013, Järvi was awarded the Order of the White Star by the President of Estonia for his outstanding contribution to Estonian Culture.